Lifestyle changes happen when children enter the picture and “family time” becomes the new thing. As far as dining out goes, parents need to either get a babysitter for the occasion or find some haunts that are child-friendly. Most of us that live in Greenpoint (and New York City in general) can’t quite get enough of the cuisine this city has to offer, so it’s good to be in the know about places to take the kiddos.

Babies under 6 months or so usually are very portable and can easily slide into a booth with you in a cozy carrier or right next to parents snoozing away in a stroller. But once your kids are a little bit older, the dining challenges begin to present themselves.

This list isn’t for entertaining children (i.e. kid-themed or places with kid menus, etc) as most of those restaurants are in Manhattan and also have a specific vibe. It’s for when you need a restaurant you’d like to go to with little ones in tow and not worry about whether or not everyone will be welcome. Continue reading →

♦ PAFF x Alexi Lubomirski Present: Young Poland @ A/D/O (29 Norman Ave), 6pm, FREE, Curated by Alexi Lubomirski, Young Poland will serve as an insight to the next generation of accomplished photographers born in Poland in the 1980s and ’90s, More info☺ Sad, Sad 🙂 – Talking Comedy and Depression @ Muchmore’s (2 Havemeyer St), 6:30pm, FREE, Gregory Uzelac moderates an inciteful and darkly funny discussion with fellow NY comedians to talk about their own experiences with mental illness and how that translates into humor on stage, More info* Medicinal Mushrooms: Healing Body, Soul, & World @ Root Mamma (236 Richardson St), 7:30pm, $20, Fungi are the web that weaves us all together! Join us to learn about the amazing, multi-faceted healing aspects of mushrooms and fungi, considered by many to be our most intimate allies, Buy tix♫ Stefan Zeniuk and Green Mambo @ Threes Franklin + Kent (113 Franklin St), 8pm, FREE, A steamy, goofy, and fun night of old-school mambos, with the occassional cha cha cha, rumba, and psychedelic jungle trance, More info♦ Independent Women: The Babadook @ Videology (308 Bedford Ave), 9:30pm, $12, A widowed mother (Essie Davis), plagued by the violent death of her husband, battles with her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her. Costumes are strongly encouraged, Buy tixContinue reading →

It’s no secret that NYC burgers have become a bit of a luxury item. Foodie culture and “chef-driven” menus have made $20+ burgers the rule rather than the exception. But there’s no need to despair; the budget-conscious among us can still find some awesome burger-related deals if we know where to look. Fortunately for us North Brooklynites, our neighborhood’s got plenty of specials that include both the burger and its natural partner: a cold, crisp beer. Behold, the Top Burger And Beer Deals of Greenpoint (and sure, North Williamsburg too):

Although we still miss Franklin Street’s dearly-departed Cassette, we have to say: Threes Brewing is killing it at the pop-up game. Their open-ended residency in the space, Threes at Franklin + Kent, is the ideal spot to meet up with friends and grab a bite and a high-quality brew, and while they started their run with a snack-only food menu, they’ve since expanded into sandwich and burger territory. Their partnership with Purslane Catering lets them serve up substantial dishes that pair beautifully with their draft offerings, and they’ve built some very appealing deals into the menu. Our personal favorite has to be the Burgers + Beer Special ($12), available Monday-Friday from 5-7pm. You’ll get a grilled beef burger with Fontina cheese and caramelized onions on a Sullivan Street Bakery brioche bun, plus a side of smashed potatoes and an 11 oz pour of a Threes draft beer. Because it’s a pop-up, we know that Threes At Franklin + Kent may one day vanish as magically and suddenly as it appeared…but with a happy hour situation like that, we’re keeping our fingers and toes crossed for a long stay.Continue reading →

Thanks to a warm welcome from the neighborhood and the initial success of the pop-up, Threes Brewing is extending its stay in Greenpoint! The outpost will continue to occupy the former Cassette space at 113 Franklin Street (corner of Kent St.) at least through the summer.

Though I’d been hearing great things about the Gowanus brewery for a while before my first visit, it was a Luluc concert at Tiny Montgomery—the brewery’s versatile private dining room that doubles as an intimate concert venue—that inspired my first trip to the original Threes location. With a coffee shop by Ninth Street Espresso conducive to tackling some work before the show, my sense of the place was that it would lend itself nicely to spending the day and then enjoying food by one of the pop-ups featured at the time (its food is now exclusively by The Meat Hook) and beers with friends who joined for the show.

Now much of what I loved about that welcoming, experience-focused, “come hang” vibe is just down the block from me. Known for its frequent and interesting programming, Threes will bring more of the same to Threes @ Franklin + Kent with live music and other events starting in May. In the meantime, there will be DJs a few nights per week, as well as a lineup of other breweries coming by each Wednesday (4/19 Industrial Arts; 4/26 KCBC; 5/3 Other Half; 5/10 LIC Beer Project; 5/17 Barrier Brewing; 5/24 Transmitter). Continue reading →

Hallelujah! Something’s happening in the old Cassette space, making Franklin Street a little less sparse. The past several weeks we’ve seen Brooklyn Label paper up their windows, Mr. Souvlaki bit the dust, Mrs. Kim’s is “renovating”, and Jimmy’s packed up before year’s end. Gowanus’s Threes Brewing will be opening a temporary bar and beer shop at 113 Franklin Street (at Kent) starting today, and it will run at least through the end of the month and possibly longer. Continue reading →